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Wow! Lots o questions!!!

A few answers.

I wasn't using much oil, less than a quart between changes. I had several leaks developing that needed attention. My compression was 155 to 160 evenly distributed. I didn't do a leakdown on all cylinders. I did on the one cylinder that had a funky plug last tune up. It was ok, no leakdown overnight.

I had been running 91+ fuel to limit a bit of spark knock at higher elevations on long hill climbs. I also advanced the timing slightly for more pep from the added octane. With the spark knock came a little higher temps on both temp gauges (OE in the IP and Autometer on the dash). Nothing that was not controlled by the fan thermoswitch and the Taurus fan.

I've been running regular green at a roughly 50/50 mix with distilled water. I've done major flushing on the engine several times. Wasn't really expecting to see as nasty water jackets as I saw.

I had planned on doing an oil pan gasket during all this, should I proceed with that and pull off a main cap and see what the bearings look like?


If the bottom end is quite and you don't have any reason to suspect a problem I would leave it alone. The risk of dirt contamination from disassembly causing a problem is pretty high. An oil sample sent to a lab would be a quick way of seeing if you have a problem.

On good running engine that did not get run low on oil or leak coolant into the crankcase while running the bearings should be fine.

Looking at the pattern on the cylinder walls I was pretty sure you had advanced your timing.

Kevin

87 Turbo Intercooled Raider, roller cam, torsen rear diff, LSD front diff, lockup auto with modified converter, V6 brakes, low transfer case gears...